After August 24th we are permitted to use two viewing platforms on the Glendale river for our grizzly bear watching tours. This photo is from the first platform and shows nine bears (two on the right, three in the middle, two side by side to the left by the bush, one tight to the bank beside the bush and one down river). These grizzly bears are all here to catch the salmon as they move up the river to jump the weir and move into the man-made spawning channel. Viewing from a raised platform means that all photos are from above the bears. Most of our viewing is from the second platform which eliminates the metal weir in the photos but we use both if the bears are in only one area.
Sea Otter Sightings

The last 3 years we have been starting to view sea otters in our area more regularly. They are still often a distance away, but the sightings are increasing with some “rafts” of them developing in areas near the western portion of our whale watching trips. These animals were hunted heavily for their fur and were completely wiped out of British Columbia waters. Re-introduction occurred from Alaskan otters in the 1960’s. They have long been protected and their numbers have been steadily increasing along the exposed BC coast and are now moving back into inside waters. They are unique in that they don’t have the insulating blubber that other marine mammals use to keep warm. As a result they have dense (over 1 million hairs per square inch) fur and feed heavily. They are important in balancing the eco-system. They eat a lot of sea urchins, which eat a lot of kelp. Kelp is extremely important as it provides cover for juvenile fish and is where the herring spawn in the early spring. With the increase in these otters we are seeing a greater abundance and healthier kelp forests.
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